Joint IFAD/AfDB High-Level Evaluation Meeting of Agriculture and Rural Development in Africa

In July 2007, the Presidents and the Boards of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) requested a joint evaluation of agriculture and rural development (ARD) policies and operations of both institutions in Africa. Undertaken jointly by the independent evaluation offices of both institutions, the evaluation had four objectives. These were to:

Determine the relevance of the ARD policies and operations;

Assess their performance and impact;

Evaluate the strategic partnership between IFAD and AfDB and partnerships with other sector stakeholders; and

Develop recommendations to enhance the development effectiveness of the two institutions. The evaluation has been successfully completed.

Expected Outputs of the Meeting

The main objectives of the meeting will be for the senior managements of both institutions to jointly

Discuss the findings and recommendations of the joint evaluation;

Review and agree on the joint response to the evaluation; and

Discuss and agree on the evaluation’s joint action plan with clear milestones.

At the end of the meeting, the managements of both institutions will brief one another on the new orientation of their future agricultural partnership, in line with the results of the evaluation and the Bank’s new agricultural and agro-industry strategy.

Participants

The President of AfDB or his representative, IFAD’s Assistant President (Programmes), IFAD’s Deputy Director, Office of Evaluation, IFAD’s Director West and Central Africa Division, IFAD’s Director East and Southern Africa Division, and IFAD’s Country Manager, Near East and North Africa Division, as well as AfDB Vice Presidents responsible for Sector Operations and Country and Regional Programmes and Policy, Directors from relevant sector, regional and other Bank Departments, Heads of concerned Bank Organizational Units and concerned Bank Division Managers.